The Doom of Innocence
by Seadiver113
Summary: When a mysterious young Firebender enters his life, Zuko's world is changed forever, but how will he react to that change? How will she react to the changes in her own heart? Where do her loyalties lie? How will she choose...summery inside...
1. Ambushed

Summery: When a mysterious young Firebender enters his life, Zuko's world is changed forever, but how will he react to that change? How will she react to the changes in her own heart? Where do her loyalties lie? How will she choose between the truth and love that lies deep in her heart or her loyalties to her nation?

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AN: Hey guys, I finally got my first fanfic up! YES does a happy dance lol well like I said it's my first fanfic so sorry if it's bad and please R&R...but please, please, please...no flames! Oh and I don't own A:TLA ...wish I did but I don't...anyways R&R...ENJOY!

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**The Doom of Innocence**

**Chapter 1. Ambushed**

The large Fire Navy warship rocked gently under the rolling ocean waves, while it rested in a small port close to a small Earth Kingdom town. A group of the ships occupants were missing lost somewhere, no doubt, in the town looking for supplies. Among these occupants was a tall young man of about sixteen or seventeen who had long black hair that was pulled back in a topknot, though a more noticeable feature of this striking young man was the large scar that resembled a flame, which covered most of the left side of his face; an older man around his late fifties with long graying hair, accompanied him.

"Prince Zuko! This place looks nice, let's go here," said the excited old man, who already had many shopping bags as it was.

"Uncle Iroh, we're wasting our time here, we've already got all the supplies we need, and I want to leave, now! We finally found the Avatar's trail after all those weeks of searching, and I don't want to lose him again!" Zuko said, very frustrated.

"How many times must I tell you, nephew, shopping is never a waste of time, actually it's much like drinking tea! And besides, it is impossible to capture the Avatar, and you know that, your father, grandfather, and great grandfather all tried and failed," Iroh said browsing through some old scrolls.

"That's because their honor didn't hang in the balance….mine does" Zuko said with a determined yet sad look in his eyes.

"Oh Zuko," Iroh sighed. "You have more honor than any of your sires combined."

"Thank you, uncle," Zuko said with a thin doubtful smile.

* * *

An hour later Zuko and Iroh were heading back to the black warship when all of a sudden a strange commotion in the surrounding forest caught their attention.

"What was that?" Zuko asked, his eyes fully alert. Iroh made no reply.

Just then a band of rebel teens emerged from the thicket of trees and surrounded the unsuspecting Firebenders.

_An ambush! _Zuko thought, his fist started to glow. "Who are you," he demanded angrily, his fists now glowed from the intensity of the fire that was dancing to and fro around his hands. A tall boy, obviously their leader, around seventeen stepped forward. He had thick brown hair with mischievous brown eyes that gleamed with sick pleasure.

The name's Jet, commit it to memory, because it's the last name you'll ever know, you Fire Nation scum," Jet replied with a sneer. Jet made a hand motion and a boy with an incredibly large nose and ears stepped forward with a bow in hand, aimed right for Iroh's chest.

"Now say goodbye, you old fire rat," Jet exclaimed with an evil smirk. With that the boy let his arrow fly.

"UNCLE, WATCH OUT," Zuko screamed.

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AN: Well there it is, the first chapter of my first fanfic, and it's a...CLIFFE lol I love it! sry it was so short...I hope it wasn't too boring, I had to get some things established...but have no fear it will get better after this...and maybe a little longer! Well I hope ya liked it! please REVIEW! 


	2. A Close Call

AN: Alrighty then...here's chapter 2 of The Doom of Innocence...I've yet to get a review...I'm very very sad now...but trust me ya'll it's gonna get good! like this chapter is somuch better than the first...and its longer too...idk how much but it took me all afternoon to figure out what to put in this chapter and then put it in words...I've never really tried to write a battle scene before, sooo...idk how its gonna turn out soo...tell me how I did... good? bad? idc what just please please review! Well I'll quit rambling...here ya go chapter 2...R&R...(please)...and ENJOY!

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**The Doom of Innocence**

**Chapter 2. A Close Call**

"UNCLE, WATCH OUT," Zuko screamed. Iroh glanced at Zuko and smiled sad farewell smile, and awaited his death.

Just as Zuko was about to push his uncle out of the way, a streak of lightning flashed across the sky, snapping the arrow in half, causing it to fall to the ground, just several inches away from Iroh.

"WHAT," Jet exclaimed. "Who would dare try and save that worthless old fire rat?" he demanded angrily shouting to no one in particular.

"That would be me," said a musical voice from somewhere in the distance. A young girl of about sixteen stepped into view; she stood about 5' 8" and had brown hair that hung down to her shoulders, her amber eyes flashed with cold menace at the young rebels.

"And who are YOU," Jet screamed, infuriated that some Fire Nation wretch had so easily countered his well devised plan to assonate the famous Dragon of the West, with just one single blow.

"That is irrelevant for you to know," she said with a proud air, which most citizens of the Fire Nation possessed.

"What's your purpose in doing this? And who gave you the say so to stand in my way," Jet demanded, slowly pulling out his weapons.

She glanced back at Zuko and Iroh, "My reasons are classified as to this action of intervention; however," she glanced back at Jet, "Fire Lord Ozai has given me a commission to cleanse this land of the likes of you rebels. In my case, there's no need for any of my peers to give me the right to deal with putrid rebels like you, I count it a joy to aid my nation by disposing of the likes of you, with or without permission. Its rebels like you who put everything that my nation has worked so hard to achieve, hangingin the balance," she said glaring coldly at Jet.

"Well, well. I also count it a joy to be a thorn in your nation's ass," he said coolly pointing his long fishhook staff weapons at her.

"So be it," she said her fists glowing brightly as electric sparks dashed back and forth, circling both of her hands. And the battle began.

* * *

Zuko and Iroh hung back and watched silently, both were dumbstruck, partly in awe of all that had just occurred, partly in awe of her skills in battle. 

"She….bends lightning…" Zuko whispered to himself, shocked at her skill in lightning, he himself had rarely seen Firebenders bend lightning, mostly because of the danger it held, only true a true Firebending master dared use extreme lightning such as this in battle.

"She isvery skilled," Iroh mused silently.

* * *

The young Firebender slowly approached Jet. She took a deep breath and stood there motionlessly, staring at nothing, as if in a trance. Jet called back most of his rebels, only three remained: a very large fellow, the big eared, big nosed boy with the bow, and a very short little guy that looked incapable of causing much harm. 

"Boys, I'll handle this one myself, do what you wish with the other two," Jet said, his eyes fixed on the young Firebender.

"Big mistake," she said summoning an electric orb and hurdling it at him. He flew back into a tree.

He sat there for a minute; judging her skills, and figuring his odds on winning. He grinned evily.

"That's it," he said, a sudden burst of angerflashed in his eyes, "I was going to take it easy on you since you're a girl, a sexy one at that, but I see that we have to do this the hard way."

"Humph, don't hold back on my account," she said as she dashed at him with a strange rod that she found lying on the ground.

"Don't worry, I wont," he said narrowly dodging the attack as she slammed the rod into the tree. The impact of the tree and the rod harshly jarred her body; she fell to the ground with a thud. Taking advantage of her in that defenseless position, he quickly pinned her to the ground with one hand suppressing her, the other to choke her.

Thinking quickly she jabbed her knee in his groin. He yelped in pain and she easily pushed him off. Grabbing her weapon, she slammed it into his back repeatedly,when he suddenly jumped up and deflected her attack with his fishhook-like weapons.

"Not bad for Fire Nation scum," he said slyly, as he continued bashing her.

"Your not so bad yourself, you putrid rebel," she said, narrowly dodging out of the way before the hook on his weapon sliced her throat. She retaliated with a large blow to his left arm, causing one of his weapons to fly some distance away. She quickly glanced over at Zuko and Iroh to be sure they were ok. As she did Jet seized the moment, and slashed her left arm, leaving a large gash, which quickly started pouring blood. She screamed out in pain and fell to the ground.

* * *

Zuko and Iroh were so into their own battle, that they barely heard the girl scream, much less notice her impact into the ground. 

"Excellent, Prince Zuko," Iroh said as he brought the smallest of the three rebels with a flame punch.

"You taught me well uncle," Zuko replied, punching the boy who had tried to kill Iroh, knocking him unconscious. He turned to face the large fellow who was called Pipsqueak, and as he did, he saw the young Firebender fighting Jet with her left arm soaked in blood.

"You have to help her Zuko," exclaimed Iroh, who was at the time fighting Pipsqueak.

"But uncle what about you," Zuko replied reluctant to leave and allow him to face that giant alone.

"I can handle myself, she needsyour help, she can't fight like that, now GO," Iroh said dodging one of Pipsqueak's blows.

"Alright," he said to himself, running to the area where Jet was currently bashing the almost unconscious girl into oblivion. Running as quietly as he could, he snuck up behind Jet, and punched him hard in the ribs.

"You know, it's very dishonorable to beat a defenseless woman," Zuko said coolly, forming daggers of fire in his hands.

"What would you know about honor, after all you're just a banished prince,who has a father that cares nothing foryou, I should kill you now, in fact I just might," Jet replied with an evil smirk. The young girl shifted at his statement. She slowly stood, and with all the strength she could muster, she summoned a bolt of lightning that hit the unsuspecting Jet in the back, giving Zuko the prime opportunity to rid the worldof Jet once and for all.

"KILL HIM NOW," she screamed at Zuko, her amber eyes ablaze, thenshe fell to the ground with asoft thud.

Zuko hesitated; it would be very dishonorable on his part. _It's for the good of the Fire Nation…this rebelhas, andwill kill manymore Fire Nation soldiers if allowed to live. _Zuko thought.With slighthesitation,he thrust the fiery dagger into Jet's heart, and in a matter of seconds, Jet, the great rebel leader, was dead.

"Good work Prince Zuko," Iroh replied cheerfully. Zuko looked past his uncle and saw Pipsqueak on the ground, out cold. "How is she?" Iroh asked, startling Zuko out of his thoughts.

"Oh, I don't know," Zuko hadn't even thought of her until Iroh said something. He hurried to where she was lying, unconscious and covered in blood. He silently examined her limp form; her visage was lined with scratches, blood, and bruises. "Well, we better get going, its almost dark." Zuko said getting up and forgettingall about the girl.

"But Zuko, we can't just leave this poor girl here…she did save us, you know," Iroh said, kneeling down, examining the girl.

"Uncle, it's not our place to just take her with us, father gave her a job hereafter all, and besides I'm the one who saved her" Zuko said getting agitated because of all the lost time.

"Whether Ozai gave her a missionor not, whether you saved her or whether she saved you, it does not really matter. She is injured, and it would be the most dishonorable thing you could do to leave her here in this condition." Iroh said looking his nephew dead in the eyes, knowing he would agree, since he held honor in such high esteem.

"….we…don't have any extra room for – " Zuko stammered.

"Zuko…" Iroh sighed, disappointed in his nephew's behavior.

"Fine," Zuko sighed, anxious to get to the ship and back to chasing the Avatar, "But hurry the sun is starting to set." He sighed again and walked back over to her; he picked her up bridal style and bid for his uncle to follow. She was surprisingly light. Zuko looked down at her bruised and bloodied face. _What am I getting myself into? _He thought, and with that he, Iroh, and this mysterious new girl all headed toward the black warship.

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AN: Well...here ya go...ch. 2 How was it? I hope it made up for the first boring chapter...so how was the battle scene? good? bad? PLEASE tell me.I guess I'll wait and see how this one goes over and then think about the next chapter...well...catcha later! REVIEW!


	3. Bitter First Impressions

AN: ok guys I got ONE review...YES at least I got one! A big shoutout to Princess MeiMei! THANK YOU! As of right now you are my biggest fan...soo congrats! lol omg this aint right...I've got like 64 hits to my story...NO ONE REVIEWS and hardly anybody makes it to ch. 2...is ch. 1 THAT BAD! lol Oh well...I'm really not writing this for the benefit of anyone who reads this...I'm doin it for myself...to help increase my writing skills...but it would be a little nice to get some feedback here people! lol but its a funny story, I had the hardest time getting the chapter up. First my the power cuts off while I'm writing...meaning I had to start ALL OVER...then my fanfic account says I don't have a story! I was totally POed people! so PLEASE REVIEW for my sake (especially on this ch.) well here ya go chapter 3 of The Doom of Innocence! R&R ENJOY!

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**The Doom of Innocence**

**Ch.3 Bitter First Impressions**

It was late afternoon when they arrived back at the ship. The sky was illuminated with an orange tint, as the sun slowly dove beyond the horizon. Zuko, who at the time, was still carrying the unconscious girl, and Iroh, slowly boarded the docked ship, where Lt. Jee was there waiting to greet them.

"Prince Zuko, General Iroh, we were beginning to…" Lt. Jee trailed off when he saw the very agitated Zuko and the burden he was carrying.

"No need to worry, Lt. Jee, we can take care of ourselves," Zuko said with a condescending sneer.

"I'm sure," he replied with a hint of sarcasm.

"Lt. Jee," Iroh said, intervening before an argument broke out. "Will you please alert the doctor that he is needed, for as you can see, this woman has severe injuries that need to be tended to right away. And please have someone prepare a room for her."

"Right away, General Iroh," Lt. Jee replied with a curtnod, and with one last glare at Zuko he walked off.

Iroh looked at the impatient Zuko, "That was unnecessary Prince Zuko, butit can wait. What's important now is that our lovely young friend here gets to the infirmary," Iroh said with a friendly grin, hoping his nephew would cool his temper.

"Whatever," Zuko said trying desperately to keep his temper in check. As he stalked off to the infirmary, his mind was racing. _Why? Why did she save us...what were her motives? Why would father hire her to wipe out that many rebels on her own? _Zuko thought. Although the answer was very obvious, she was a magnificent fighter both in bending and close range combat with skills any bender or normal fighter would envy. Yet the thought struck him as odd.

* * *

When the doctor was able to get around to checking her, he was shocked at the condition the girl was in; bruises and scratches dotted both of her arms, while a large gash that extended from the tip of her shoulder and ended at her elbow, on her left arm was covered in dry blood.

"What….what happened," the doctor asked Iroh who had been sitting at her side since Zuko had brought her to the infirmary.

"An ambush, a group of rebel teens surrounded and attacked Zuko and I, then she showed up and saved us both; however as she was battling their leader she lost her focus, giving him the opportunity to beat her into this state, that's when Zuko intervened, and now here we are." Iroh said examining the limp form, worry glinted in his golden eyes.

"Well then, I guess I'd better get started then," he said eyeing the blood covered gash with the utmost seriousness.

"Take care of her doctor," Iroh said calmly as he walked out of the room.

"Don't worry General Iroh; she's in good hands."

* * *

About an hour or so later the doctor emerged from ht infirmary and went off to find Iroh. He finally found Iroh in the Helm playing a game of Pi Sho with some of the crew, while Prince Zuko was calmly talking to the captain about the directions the Avatar had taken, and of his possible whereabouts in the surrounding area.

"General Iroh," the doctor said calmly. The whole room fell silent as all eyes fell upon him.

"Yes doctor, how is our young friend?" Iroh asked with some concern.

"Well," the doctor started, feeling awkward from their staring. "I've stitched up her left arm, but it will leave a nasty scar. She was very lucky this time, the gash on her left arm cut extremely deep and nearly cut through a main artery in her arm. She bruised a couple of ribs, but other than that she is just bruised and battered, no major harm done." he finished, with a small smile.

"Good,good, is she awake yet?" Iroh questioned, relieved that she would be okay.

"No, not yet, but it should not be long now, would you like to see her,"

"Yes, yes of course," Iroh replied quickly, forgetting all about his game. "Come on Prince Zuko, lets go see her," Iroh exclaimed cheerfully, slowly dragging the now agitated Fire Prince out the door.

"No uncle, I don't want to see –" Zuko tried to protest but was cutoff.

"Nonsense, she isprobablydying to see her savior!" Iroh smirked slyly.

* * *

They walked on in silence until they reached the infirmary. Iroh slowly approached her bedside with the doctor; Zuko hung back reluctantly by the door, waiting for the perfect opportunity to slip out. After a couple of minutes with no indication of her coming around, Zuko started to become impatient.

"Well," he demanded, frustrated at his uncle for all the nonsense he was putting him through.

"Shhh……she's waking up!" Iroh exclaimed excitedly. Slowly, very slowly her eyes unlided to reveal glazed over, hazy amber pools, which somehow reflected the light comingfrom the room. She slowly moved her head, examining every detail and every person in the small room in the infirmary; then her eyes cleared as she came to a sense of realization, and then, she locked eyes with Zuko. She jolted upright, eyes wide with shock and fright.

* * *

A jolt of pain, like liquid fire, seared through her arm. She moaned, clutching her arm gently, fearing to see the damage Jet had done to her arm. She groaned when she saw the long, yet slender, stitched up gash on her left arm. She glanced around the room again after sensing tension and stares in the room being directed at her.

"Where…where am I," she asked, agitated at the sympathetic looks she was getting form Iroh and the doctor, Zuko just stood there staring.

"Why hello there, I'm Iroh and this is my nephew Zuko," Iroh said smiling his goofy grin.

"Yes, I know who you are, but, _where _am I," she asked firmly, knowing that if he kept this up she would lose her cool.

"Your –" Iroh tried to reply but was cutoff.

"On my ship," Zuko said his voice like searing ice.

"Yes and how are you feeling now," the doctor quickly intervened before she could snap back at Zuko.

"I'm fine, never been better," she replied pulling herself up and glaring at Zuko.

"Well to obtain the wounds you received, you must have had some amazing battle." he said smiling. Just as she was about to reply Iroh jumped in.

"Oh yes, it was magnificent; close range combat, excellent Firebending, you should have seen…." Iroh trailed off and looked down at her. "I do not believe we know your name. It would make an old man very happy to know the name of the women who –"

"Meisha, just call me Meisha," she replied quickly cutting Iroh off.

"Well Meisha," the doctor said, "You're in stable condition, so you should be able to leave the infirmary now."

"Good," she replied pushing herself out of the uncomfortable bed.

"Well Miss Meisha, we have a room already prepared for you," Iroh smiled and looked back at Zuko firmly. "Zuko please escort Miss Meisha to her room." Zuko sighed; there would be no arguing with his uncle on this.

As she made a step towards the door, she stumbled, still weak from all the blood she had lost,while her bruised ribs sent a jolt of pain throughout her body. Iroh quickly grabbed her and tried to steady her; she shook him off asthe doctor hurried over to her.

"Maybe you should stay here tonight," he said trying to usher her back to that horrible bed.

"I'm fine," she said pushing away from the doctor.

"But ma'am you really should – "

"I'm FINE!" she exclaimed, fire flying from her fists. The doctor quickly quieted his protest. She slowly made her way to where Zuko was waiting, and silently followed.

* * *

Tensions were high as Zuko led Meisha down one hall after another; she was a ticking time bomb for disaster and just saying one wrong word could easily ignite her temper.

"So..." Zuko said breaking the icy silence. "Did my father really commission you to wipe out that rebel group," he asked his eyes fixed on the door some distance away that he knew would be her room.

"Humph, do you really think Ozai would _need _to commission anybody for a task as simple as that." Meisha replied calmly.

"So what are you saying?" Zuko was starting to get agitated.

"Well to put it in terms that even _you_ would understand; I lied." She smirked, knowing that, that would infuriate him. And it did.

"Then why were you out there?" he was really angry now.

"Like I said, I count it a joy to aid the Fire Nation in any way possible. I do itall of my own fee will."

He fell silent. He didn't trust her….not at all.

"Well then, why did you save my uncle?" he asked knowing she wouldn't tell him.

"As I stated before, the reasons for my intervention are classified; however, I could not allow a member of the royal family, no matter how disgracefull they may be, to be assonated without so much as a fight or in the worst possible case, sacrificing myself." She stated calmly, knowing very well what his next question would be. She knew he didn't trust her. She grinned inwardly and thought. _But that's all going to change._

"Why is it so important that you can't tell us?" he asked trying to keep his temper in check.

"Because it's _classified_; any idea what the word means?" she said smirking.

"That's not what I asked!" he retorted, his fists starting to glow.

"Oh dear, little Zuko's getting mad," she said in a little girl's voice.

"What are you hiding from us?" he demanded, his fists now quite hot.

"Nothing, nothing at all," she said in an innocent, carefree voice.

"Tell me now or I'll –" he said blocking her path, his eyes flashed dangerously.

"You'll what? Throw me overboard? Or prehapsyou'll burn poor helpless little me into a crisp," she said tauntingly, causing several sparks of lightning to fly around him and then soothingly said, "Get a grip, I'm not hiding anything. Why would I? It's like, my sworn duty to protect the royal family, why should I have something to hide?" she looked up at him, her eyes twinkling in the dark.

Zuko sighed and opened a door. "Here's where you'll stay," he said calmly, eyes still flashing. Her musical voice had amazingly soothed his nerves, but he was still skeptical of her.

"Thank you," she replied walking into the room, calmly closing the door, leaving him alone in the dark hall.

* * *

_So much for a good first impression, rather bitter actually. _She thought lying down on the bed made for her; her body ached all over and it felt good to relax for the first time in weeks. _I need to control my temper...hmph it's nothing compared to his though. Hmm yes, nothing quiet like his at all. _She rolled over and quickly fell into the peace of sleep.

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AN: Ok guys there it is...this is by far the best chapter...if I do say so myself...so please review...it took me forever to get this up. So give me some feedback! Well your reviews are much appreciated (although I only got one). Well I got to get to work on what ch. 4 is gonna be about cuz...I haven't the faintest idea myself! oh well! Catcha later! SEE YA! REVIEW

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	4. Tea for Two

AN: Hey guys! Sorry if it took long to do this ch. I was rackin my brain for an idea...then it hit me...at like...three o'clock in the morning lol...so I've been writing my heart out today! well I hope you guys are enjoying this...or even readingit...I have no idea if you areor not...but w/e...Ionly know of three people who are reading...I got like 110 hits...two reviews (thankful for both of em!), I'm on one person's alert list and on anothers fave list...can't complain I guess...in fact I'm a very happy person right now! So here ya go! Ch. 4 of The Doom of Innocence...R&R ENJOY!

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**The Doom of Innocence **

**Ch. 4 Tea for Two**

The sun was high in the sky shining brightly down on the ocean below, making it glitter in fierce beauty.

Zuko walked slowly through the ship's halls searching for his uncle. Iroh had fallen ill the previous day and Zuko wanted to check on him, as well as tell his uncle of the suspicions he was having of Meisha. It had been at least two days since he and Meisha had had their argument, and he was in no hurry to make up.

* * *

When he arrived at his uncle's room, he was surprised to see Meisha, of all people, sitting by Iroh's bedside _serving_ him tea, and actually chatting _merrily _with him. 

"And then he told me –" she paused when she saw Zuko standing there staring directly at her.

"Ahh, Prince Zuko, you're just in time to hear –" Iroh was about to say, but Zuko cut him off.

"What are you doing?" he asked coldly, staring suspiciously at her and then his uncle's cup.

"Having tea with your uncle, would you like to join us?" she asked sweetly. "It's a special type of herbal tea that I just made, and it will make Iroh here feel much better." She smiled looking at Iroh who was immensely enjoying her tea.

"And it's very good tea too," Iroh stated, it was obvious that he was delighted with having someone to enjoy tea with.

"Humph," Zuko glared, a little jealous butignoring his uncle's comment. "Well, what's in it?" his eyes gleaming fiercely. "Or is that classified too?"

"What you would put in normal tea, but with special healing herbs added!" she said defensively, knowing very well what he was leading at.

"Be more specific," he demanded balling his fists tightly.

"What do you mean, its just tea!" she screamed.

"Let me make myself more specific," he said, thinking this would really blow her up. "On terms _you _would understand." He slowly approached her and whispered, "What type of poison did you give my uncle?" his eyes were a mix of fear and hatred.

Upon having heard his nephew's accusation, Iroh, who at the time was _drinking_ the tea, chocked and spit it out and thenglared at Zuko.

"ZUKO!" Iroh exclaimed ashamed his nephew would say something such as that.

"What!" she screamed jumping up, careful to not jar her ribs.

"Humph, quit playing innocent, I know what you did." Zuko smirked, she had another thing coming if she thought he would fall for that innocent, confused look.

"I can't believe you, you still actually believe I'm hiding something from you?" she cried, very tempted to burn Zuko to a crisp right there on the spot.

"Yes, yes actuallyI do." He smirked at the position he had put her in.

"So you just accuse me of poisoning your uncle, because of some stupid idea you got in your thick head, when in reality all I'm trying to do is help!" she couldn't believe him.

"Humph, as far as I'm concerned," his eyes narrowed, "You're just some drifter or an assassin hired by Zhao to eliminate my uncle and me so he can capture the Avatar without interference."

"Just who do you think you are to insult me like that!" she demanded, now very angry.

"Zuko, Prince of the Fire Nation and heir to the throne." He stated trying to intimidate her into confessing so he could quickly aid his uncle.

Iroh was shocked at his nephew's behavior.

"Yeah, a _banished _prince with no honor whatsoever." She retorted boldly, not intimidated by him at all.

"What would you know of honor, like I said, your probably just an assassin who was rejected by her family and friends, and has no honor, no home, no dignity, and no appreciation for life. In fact the only thing you probably do have is a cold-blooded desire to see innocent blood spilled over onto a cold floor." He said smirking at the expression on her face.

She stood there silently, taking in all that he said. She wanted to make a comeback but her tongue formed no words. She wanted to punch him but her arms betrayed her. She wanted to run off to the shadows and be alone but her feet remained frozen. She wanted to cry out over all the losses and mistakes of her past, but her pride would never allow that. She wanted most of all to go home and let everything go back to the way it was before, but she had no one to run to and her past was irreversible.

Zuko watched, amused at all of the emotions displayed on her visage.

She silently looked to him, hurt reflected through her honey colored eyes. Without warning she swiftly slapped him on his right cheek.

"I hate you." She whispered softly and shuffled out of the room as quickly as her injuries would allow. Running to her room before the tears became obvious.

* * *

Zuko stood there shocked at all that had occurred.When he tried to reach back and grab her, he stopped short when he saw a faint tear trickle down her cheek. 

Heturned to his uncle who stared gravely at him, disappointment written all over his face.

"Prince Zuko," Iroh sighed, "When will you learn to respect other people's differences? It was only herbal tea, I watched her make it. If you would stop judging her based on your own assumptions and actually consider her feelings in all of this, you might just findMiss Meisha to be a wonderful friend. But keep that haughty attitude you've got and in the end all you will get is pain and loneliness."

"I-I'm sorry to have disturbed you…uncle." Zuko said walking out the door leaving his uncle aloneto muse in his thoughts.

* * *

Zuko walked slowly to his quarters, reviewing everything that was said, the he paused. 

_Why did I say that? _He thought and shook his head. Those weren't the kind of things he would normally say to anyone, especially a woman. He shook his head again and sighed as he headed to his room to meditate.

* * *

Meisha finally managed to get to her room without much disturbance from the crew. She locked her door and plopped down on her bed. Burying her head in the pillows, she allowed her tears to shed freely, as she had not done in many years. At first she cried passionately with such fierceness that reflected all the pain and hate she kept bottled up for so long. Soon all the tears were gone. She sat upright and brushed any that remained away. 

She would not allow her past to put everything she had worked so hard for, hanging in the balance. She closed her eyes and focused her energy and thoughts until she reached a trance-like state. The power she felt burning within her was fierce and untamable – for now at least.

She felt fire fly from her fingertips and start to slowly circle around her, trailing the line of her thoughts; becoming stronger as emotions swept over her like a giant wave.

As her emotions grew stronger, she felt herself mentally separating the balance of yin and yang and then allowing it to crash back together, causing lighting to fly through her fingers.

The Fire and lightning bolt intermingled while circling around her, eventually becoming one and turning into a strange blue fire that slowly made its way around her; all the time becoming faster and more aggressive.

Memories suddenly flooded her mind.

* * *

_A young boy and girl were standing idly in a court yard close by the palace where the Fire Lord himself was meeting with their father over certain war matters. _

"_You see Meisha, the rules of Apple Flaming go like this; you aim for an apple, or two if possible, and knock it out of the tree with your flame, but you have to avoid burning the tee down," said a young boyof about fifteen. "Knock the apple down and you get five points! Burn the tree down….and you pretty much lose the game, not to mention the trouble you'd get in!" he exclaimed looking down at the eager twelve-year-old Meisha._

"_Umm….like this?" she asked shooting a big red apple down from the tree._

"_Hmmm….not bad….for a beginner," he said teasingly. "But watch this," he made his index and middle finger form a "V" and shot down two apples which flew back and knocked down four more. _

_"Thirty points for me!" he smiled at his sister's gaped open mouth._

"_Hey, no fair!" she said, playfully pushing him to the ground. He quickly reached out and pulled her down with him. They both broke out into a mindless fit of laughter._

"_Oh Jie, your such a show off." She sighed lying beside her brother, staring at the clouds._

"_Yeah, maybe….just a little," he said slyly. They laughed again.

* * *

_

The blue fire that had been circling Meisha suddenly separated back into two individual elements and then disappeared completelyas she lostall focus.

She opened her eyes, now somewhat more calm, she stood up; she would never be able to get back into that state of mind that day. She looked out her window; it was starting to get dark.

_How long did I meditate? _She thought watching the sun slowly turn the sky to a bright pink.

_Jie..._

She laid back on her bed and tried to sleep; the memory of her brother's face, still firmly planted in her mind's eye, as she slowly drifted to sleep.

* * *

AN: Ok...yeah...second argument...second time when the chapter ends with Meisha falling asleep. For some strange reason...when I was writing ch. 3...I kept thinking of Azula when I was writing that little convo b/t Meisha and Zuko at the end...believe me she WILL NOT be like Azula...not the whole time at least...lol. I kinda thought the poisoning Iroh thing was lame...but I couldn't think of nuthin that would get Zuko all suspicious like...ya know? AND FYI: HE STARTED IT NOT HER...lol. I know she seemed like a little b in the last ch. but she really aint - not always anyway. Well there ya go...I just slaved over a notebook andthen a keyboard andskiped my lunch break...all for you guys! So please review...Reviews are like the foundation of what motivates the story...although I love to do it anyways, it would be nice to get some motivation goin on! lol well I'll shut up now...gotta think of ch. 5...gosh...my head hurts...anyways! hope ya enjoyed it! SEE YA...REVIEW!


	5. Regrets of Betrayal

**AN:**oky doky people here's chapter 5. I know I know its been like two or thee days since I updated...but I've been busy...what w/ 4th of July and then I lost my motivationcuz of lack of reviews and my inspiration just left me ...but I got it back! sitting at my computer with that notebook and keyboard brought it all back...A BREAKTHROUGH! lol w/e well I'll shut up now I like this chappie very much! kinda short, sry! but for all you gushy love mush people reading this...its about to get to the romance...I think... but you know love in real life never happens JUST LIKE THAT! it takes time and thats what I'm trying to do (plus get in as many chapter as I can). and one other thing I'm gonna get out the way...THIS IS NO MARY SUE...just to let ya know! Sure theres romance but not stupid"oh I just love you" GUSHY GUSHY GUSHY!its more of a romancebased onZuko'strue character and how he would really act if he were in love.So I'm gonna shut upfor realnow!R&R ENJOY!

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* * *

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The Doom of Innocence

**Ch. 5 Regrets of Betrayal **

_A slow steady sound of trickling water droplets echoed as they crashed to the cold metal floor. The smell of rotting flesh and infected wounds accompanied by horrible cries of pain filled the air; then silence, the silence of the dead. _

_Zuko rolled over and fell hard on his back. He tried to perch himself upright with his arms, but they were held back by cold hard metal, he tried to stand but his legs were also bound. He slowly opened his amber eyes._

_He was shut up in a cold dark room, lying on a dirty metal floor; he was in chains; bound from head to foot;he felt fresh blood from a gash on his head, trickle down his face, then fall to the floor. _

_He glanced across the room, hoping to find some means of escape._

"_W…where…am…I?" He mumbled to himself. As his eyes fully adjusted, he noticed a young man about nineteen huddled over in a corner, staring off at something obviously far off, as if in a dream; his eyes large, full of hope and silent strength as they gleamedfiercely in the darkness._

"_Who…who are you?" Zuko asked cautiously, the man made no reply, but continued to stare off at some unknown hope. Zuko glanced down and noticed that dry blood pooled around the man and upon further examination noticed the scratches and gashes that dotted his face and arms._

_Zuko glanced in the direction that the man was so eagerly staring at. He gasped as he turned and saw…_

_Everything started to fade out…

* * *

_

Zuko bolted upright, eyes flashing in alarm, his face drenched in a cold sweat.

"What…who?" Zuko looked around his room, reassuring himself that what he had experienced was just a dream. He glanced out the window, the sun was rising. Zuko looked up thoughtfully, and then walked off to do some early morning training.

* * *

Meisha leaned against the black metal railing of the ship and looked out longingly across the ocean. Thoughts of Zuko drifted to her mind; she quickly pushed them back down.

It had been several days since Zuko had falsely accused Meisha. She was in no hurry to see or even _think _about the young Fire Prince. She had been avoiding him at all costs.

When she passed him in a hall, she would simply stare straight ahead, eyes never once falling on him. When she dined with Iroh and Zuko, she just kept silent, despite all of Iroh's rambling; her eyes downcast, never straying so far as to even glance up at Iroh, who had made a miraculous recovery thanks to Meisha and her "poisoned" tea. If Zuko even tried to make an attempt to speak to her, she merely looked away, uninterested in anything he could possibly have to say.

She knew it was wrong to treat him that way, and it wasn't earning her his trust or his friendship by any means.

A small fragment of her past, somehow managed to worm its way in amongst all the other thoughts racing through her mind.

* * *

"_And who are you?" the powerful voice of her superior loomed over her head._

"_Meisha, loyal servant of Fire Lord Ozai." She replied her eyes averted when the man glared at her._

"_And what are you?" he smirked when she looked off numbly into the distance._

"_Loyal follower and soldier of Fire Lord Ozai." She replied again; she was sick of these pointless questions; these hideous men were trying to brainwash her._

"_And what motivates you and drives the passion of your fire?" he said, knowing very well she resented him for doing this._

"_The victory of the Fire Nation." She said knowing what really motivated her and it was not that by any means._

"_Hmmm….and where do your true loyalties lie?" he said in a threatening tone; she swallowed hard._

"_My loyalties lie solely to the Fire Nation and to the supreme ruler of the world, Fire Lord Ozai." She braced herself for the next question._

"_Now…" he said pulling her hair, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "Where is your rebel group hiding?" She looked down, quickly thinking of something to say._

"_I…umm…I don't…know?" she finished weakly._

_His eyes filled with rage as he grabbed her by the neck, as if strangling her, and bringing her to eye level with him; he stood a good six feet tall or higher._

"_WHERE do your loyalties lie?" he yelled, spit flying in her face; his grip continuously tightening._

"_To the….the Fire Nation." She knew it was no use resisting._

"_Then WHERE are they hiding!" he screamed._

"_They're….they're….they're hiding on the outskirts of the city," her eyes swelled with tears; she was betraying her friends and all that she believed in; Jie would never forgive her. "You can find the entrance to an underground network of resistance hideouts and different rebel camps, by the large white rock that stands in the middle of the countryside hidden by the trees." She said now gasping for breath._

"_Hmm…you've made the right choice, Meisha." He smirkedevily as he dropped her to the ground. "You will not regret it." He looked down at her slumped over body._

"_Now, General Gang," he said turning to the man standing in the corner. "Prepare the troops for battle, today, we finish this." He said walking out the room. _

"_Yes, Fire Lord Ozai." General Gang said sneering at the pathetic failure lying on the floor; with that, he turned and walked out the room leaving his only daughter crumpled and crushed on the floor; weeping at her own stupidity and weakness.

* * *

_

Meisha closed her eyes and thought back to that awful day; the day she had betrayed everything that was special to her and everyone who had really loved her. A small tear slowly made its way down her cheek.

_That was then…when I was naught but a failure and traitor. I have greater purpose and meaning now; I'm no longer that weak pathetic traitorous failure that I was then, I amone of the Fire Nation's strongest benders and fighters. _She thought trying desperately to believe what she was thinking was true; she knew it was not; she knew she would always be that very same failure to her family that she always was; her and Jie both.

"I guess…that's what Zuko and I have most in common." She whispered to herself as yet another tear trickled down her face. A voice from behind her quickly startled her from her thoughts; she quickly put on her calm and uncaring face, hoping it was not Zuko; it wasn't.

"Excuse me," said a middle-aged man with grayish colored hair; a comforting smile on his face. "May I have the opportunity to watch the sunrise with such a lovely young woman?" she smiled and he took note of the single tear slowly making its way to her chin.

"Sure," she said not averting her attention from the orange horizon. "May I inquire so much as the name of the person that I am sharing this sight with?" she said smiling at him.

"Yes, pardon my ill manners; that's what two years out at sea do to you, I am Lieutenant Jee." He replied returning the smile.

"Just call me Meisha," she said looking back out at the ocean.

"Well Meisha," said Lt. Jee after the sun had risen, "Have you seen much of the ship yet?"

"No, I've stayed…well to myself most of my time here." Thoughts of Zuko flowed back through her mind; she quickly pushed them back again.

"Well, that's understandable, what with that arrogant Prince Zuko running about ordering everyone around, I don't blame you if you hate it here." He said disgusted at the thought of Zuko.

"No….don't….don't say that. He's been through a lot and has had a….hard life." She couldn't believe she was actually _defending _Zuko; what was she thinking? "I…I know what he's been through."

"Well now, how would you –"

"I was there at the Agni Kai when his father….burned him…I had a front row seat…" she whispered, not wanting Zuko to overhear.

"But how…I mean…why were you there?" he asked shocked at her response.

"My…father is a….well known general…and my mother is an advisor to the Fire Lord….so my family and I were given supposedly 'good' seats, but my brother and I hated the whole thing."

"Hmmm….." he replied trying to place her father.

"And…." She whispered, knowing she would regret this but something told her she could trust Lt. Jee. "We also had to attend, my brother and I, because…because my grandfather…was the man who Zuko spoke out against; it was considered an insult to the entire family, and all of us were forced to go."

Lt. Jee's jaw dropped ever so slightly but he quickly regained his composer.

"Well," he said smiling, trying to change the subject before Zuko overheard. "You said you've never seen the entire ship, right?"

"Yes, that's correct." She smirked at how quicklyhe had changed the subject. She was glad, she had no wish to talk about her family.

"Would you like a tour then?" he smiled; she could tell he was a very kind man.

"Sure, only if it doesn't cut into something that you have to do."

"No, in fact the only priority I have today is to see to it that you get a tour and that you have anice experience." He smiled offering her his arm.

"Well I'll be sure that I do!" she replied taking his arm.

"Then we're off." He said taking her past a hall where Zuko had been sitting; he had heard the whole conversation. He sighed and walked off.

_Her...grandfather...was the man who I..._ His thoughts trailed off.

* * *

"And this is the Helm; this is where you will commonly find General Iroh playing Pai Sho with the crew." Lt. Jee said smirking; Iroh was a cunning expert when it came to playing that game.

"Hmm…that's nice." Her mind was in ten million other places at the time. She glanced out the window as Lt. Jee was speaking to the captain.

She saw Zuko and Iroh standing on deck. Zuko was training or being taught by Iroh, from what she could tell; she watched as Zuko punched the air, sending a fireball hurdling towards asoldier, who was knocked off his feet. Iroh motioned for Zuko to come over to him. Iroh looked down and shook his head and said something to Zuko then took a breath and allowedfire to fly from his fist.

Meisha smiled, she knew exactly what was going on; Zuko was relying on his strength instead of breath for Firebending; Meisha had often been like that when she first started off. All of a sudden Zuko looked up.

* * *

Zuko rolled his eyes at his uncle. He was tired of doing this same move for the past twenty minutes. He looked up; ignoring his uncle's nagging and saw Meisha standing in the Helm watching him, and for a faint second, he thought hesaw a small smile make its way across her face. He caught himself trying to smile and pushed it back as he continued to watch her for a few seconds more; then she realized that he was staring back at her; she turned her head and walked off without looking back.

Zuko sighed and hung his head.

_What have I done? _He thought berating himself for having talked to her as he had and falsely accusing her.

Ignoring his uncle he turned around and knocked the soldier out, then stormed off.

* * *

After her tour with Lt. Jee, Meisha slowly made her way back to the deck. It was already afternoon; it had taken a surprising amount of time to tour such a small warship; she had seen much larger in no time flat, but of course that's how the Fire Nation was; always too busy winning the war to enjoy life or anything else for that matter.

Meisha knew Zuko was watching her but she ignored him and walked over to the black railing and once again looked out across the sparkling ocean.

* * *

Zuko slowly approached Meisha. His stomach lurched; he never normally did something like this. But if he was to gain her trust, and possibly her friendship, then he must swallow his pride and apologize.

He stood by her and examined the unchanging ocean; it had not changed one bit since the day he left the Fire Nation; but he had in so many ways.

"Meisha," he started slowly. She shifted but made no reply.

"Listen Meisha, I….I'm sorry…" he trailed off, feeling like an idiot. A subtle smile twitched at her lips. "I'm sorry for…for judging you like I did and for accusing you for hurting uncle when you were only trying to help him; I'm sorry, I've been the biggest fool." He turned to walk off when she didn't reply.

"No," he stopped and looked back. "I'm the fool, I've snapped at you and threatened you and made you suspicious of me by acting like I did. And then I ignored youand treated you awfully on top of that." She looked down; she hated doing this; but to get his much-needed trust, she had to. "I'm sorry, it's just, I hate sympathy, it makes me feel like a weak failure. When you and your uncle saved me, I just couldn't take it. I snapped." She turned to him, her golden eyes reflecting the light from off of the twinkling ocean. "So I'm sorry." Shesaid sincerely and turnedback towards the ocean.

Zuko walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder and gazed out at the ocean with her. They both stood there like that for the rest of the afternoon; both in deep thought, as the sun slowly made its way down into the ocean; holding them their frozen in place for what seemed like eternity, until the starry glade unfolded and the moon danced through the sky.

* * *

AN: sry it was too short...I could have done better, but I don't have a lot of time on my hands right now..and I thought that ending would be ok for now lol. Please guys...don't make me lose my motivation again...I really work hard on this and I would like to know what ya'll think...good? bad? I dont care...I love honest answers and I'm always open of constructive critisism or even just someone saying that it was good and that they enjoyed it...its not that hard ya'll...just a click of a button and POOF you give me my motivation! so please do it for my motivation's sake at least! **_REVIEW! COME ON GUYS JUST PRESS THAT LITTLE BUTTON...YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO...AND IF YOU DO, YOU'LL MAKE MY INSPIRATION SMILE AND THEN MAKE A HAPPY SEADIVER113!_**


	6. Why Do You Fight?

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AN:** Hey everyone...sry I'm not updating like I should...I've been having a really hard timewith this chapter...you see I'm trying to keep everyone all in character but its really getting to me...so sorry if Zuko's not totally in character! I've decided that I'm not going to update as frequently...because I need to get my head together with this story...I'll be writing but while I do, I need to get my priorities in order with how this story is gonna go...its giving me a headache...so if I dont update as frequently, that's why. But please don't leave me...It won't be a long delay...maybea week, justenough to get my head together and arrange my upcoming chapters intohow theyshould begoing. You know! Well here ya go ch.6! R&R ENJOY!

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**The Doom of Innocence **

**Ch.6 Why Do You Fight?**

An elegant red bird zoomed through the sky, gracefully exerting air through its crimson feathers. It carried with it an important message, a message that could destroy the life and the dreams of a certain individual; a letter for Zhao.

The brave little messenger made its way to the Fire Navy Port, where Zhao was pacing back and forth, inspecting the repairs of a large battleship.

Zhao looked to the sky and saw the bird making its slow descent towards him, he held out his arm as it landed, and extracted the message.

"Hmm…a message from the Fire Lord." Zhao whispered to himself as he read; his eyes grew wide with shock and disbelief. He chuckled evilly.

"Well, well, Prince Zuko, it looks as if your finally about to meet your match." Zhao chuckled again as he tucked the letter under his armor. He looked over to the commander.

"Commander, ready the fastest and smallest ship available in this port." He said heading back to his quarters.

"Yes sir. But if I may ask, why the smallest ship?" The commander asked nervously.

"Well, let's just say we're going to pay a certain banished prince a little visit." With that Zhao walked off to prepare for the voyage.

* * *

Zuko stood on deck staring into the sky as he always did when searching for the Avatar. It was a clear day, perfect for sailing and in the Avatar's case, perfect for flying, yet there was no sign of the flying bison anywhere.

Iroh was on the other side of the deck drinking tea and talking to himself about how tea had the amazing power to soothe the soul, thinking someone was actually listening to him.

Meisha was sitting on deck far away from everyone, staring off mindlessly into space, apparently in deep thought; it was obvious that she didn't want to be bothered and no one dared approach her.

Zuko glanced her way and studied the trance-like fixture of her eyes; neither wavering nor averting from whatever it was she was staring at, her eyes were full of something so familiar, like Zuko had seen them somewhere before. He couldn't put a finger on it but he knew he had seen the strength in her eyes in someone else before, but he just couldn't remember who.

_What could have happened to make her this way? _He thought still watching her. He could tell that she had once been very happy, like girls her age should be, but she was not. When he looked in her eyes he saw confusion, hate, pain, and determination; whenever he looked at her, he saw what torment truly was.

She had yet to speak to him or anyone for that matter, since they both had apologized. In fact she seemed to keep to herself and remain hidden in the shadows even more now. Everyone on the ship wondered about this strange girl, yet no one dared ask a single question.

Suddenly her amber eyes shot up and glared into Zuko's. His gaze lingered for a minute until he looked up and saw…the Avatar.

* * *

Meisha's mind had been racing until she realized that Zuko had been staring at her. When she looked up at him he looked confused, like he had been trying to remember something. 

_So rude… _she thought when he looked back up to the sky. Then all of a sudden he started shouting.

"Avatar," he yelled, and soldiers started appearing form nowhere. She stood up and glanced in the direction he was pointing. She saw a large white flying bison with an arrow on its head flying full speed trying to escape from the warship.

Upon closer inspection she saw a young bald boy with the same markings on his head, steering the bison. Two young Water Tribe teenagers were sitting on the bison's back yelling at the bald kid. One was a boy with a small ponytail who looked to be a moron, while the other was a girl with a long braid who looked to be the sensible one in the group.

A catapult had been raised from below deck and was being readied for the attack.

The Avatar glanced down and for a brief moment and made eye contact with Meisha. Longing filled her eyes; she envied the two teens that were able to travel and help the Avatar. A part of her longed for that kind of freedom, while the majority of her pushed those thoughts back down; she knew her place.

The boy's grey eyes widened and he jumped back, it was as though her soul had resounded within his. It was like he heard her crying out for freedom and that he was the only one who would be able to bring it. He looked back ahead and tried to steer the bison away to safety.

_So...this is the Avatar...the one thing that fills Zuko with hope. _She thought.

_What fills me with hope? _She never really liked to think about hope; her hope had been crushed long ago. _Jie...no! The victory of the Fire Nation, that's what gives me hope. _She thought lying to herself. What truly mattered didn't really matter to her anymore.

She watched as Zuko gave the signal to shoot down the Avatar. The flaming fire ball shot through the air and just barely missed the bison; the Avatar looked back down at the black warship and with one last glance at Meisha, pulled the bison above the clouds and out of site.

* * *

Zuko punched the air in rage, allowing fire to fly from his fists. The crew just stood back waiting for his temper to subside; this happened frequently. 

_Why does this always happen? Why can't I catch him? WHY! _He thought trying to cool off; steam emitting from off his body. He glared at everyone on deck, only a few soldiers remained, most had gone back to what they were doing before. His uncle was talking to Lt. Jee and the other soldiers were cleaning up the catapult before it was returned below deck. Meisha stood alone, staring up at the sky, he saw something in her eyes like a faint glimmer of hope, slowly dieing down until her usual unreadable expression returned. He slowly approached her; he was going to figure this out once and for all.

* * *

Meisha heard footsteps behind her and quickly masked any emotional expressions in her voice or face. 

"Meisha," he said without much emotion. She slowly turned and faced him.

"Yes Zuko," she replied, her face had its usual cold expression.

"I wanted to see if you were…alright, you've done nothing but stare out into space for the past hour." He was starting to wonder if she had mental problems.

"Humph…and you've done nothing but stare at the sky for an hour." She retorted, smiling slightly.

"Whatever." he said rolling his eyes and watching her closely.

"Nothing is wrong! I'm perfectly fine," she said swinging her fists by her side causing fire to sling through the air.

"No you're not."

"Yes I am. Just leave me alone! I mean first you think I'm hiding something and now you think something's wrong with me! Will you just keep your nose in your own business and get off my case!" she stormed off, hoping to find some peace by meditating.

He sighed. Why was he even trying to help her, she obviously didn't want his help. He looked back to the few people who were still on deck, all were silent waiting for him to kick something or knock someone out, but he didn't. He simply looked back to the sky, mind racing with questions he couldn't answer.

* * *

The sun was setting on a black warship. It was a good size larger than Prince Zuko's but was still fairly small. 

Admiral Zhao stood there glaring into the distance; the salt air blew through his hair while the salty waves licked his face. He smirked as he watched the crew bustle about, preparing for the upcoming encounter.

_Meisha, Meisha, what a lucky girl you truly are to be such a highly favored servant of the Fire Lord. _Zhao thought bitterly, envying her high position, although it wasn't the most honorable position, she was still in a more powerful place with the Fire Lord than he could ever dream of being. He knew it wasn't what she wanted though and in his opinion she didn't deserve it.

_Humph, the little traitor should have been burned at the stake just like her comrades. Well it doesn't matter now...I guess she has her uses though. _He smirked again, watching the sun slowly descend beyond the horizon.

* * *

Meisha looked to the starry sky and smiled; this would be the perfect time to practice her Firebending. She walked around on deck and made sure no one was watching. She didn't really care if anyone saw, but she just wanted peace. Although she didn't know it, she _was_ being watched. 

Meisha closed her eyes and summoned the fire within her; in an instant a flash of fire sparked from her hand and started hovering around her face.

Using her hand she formed and guided a fire snake into different directions, and then formed a graceful arc above her head. She reshaped the fire into random shapes and after awhile, allowed it to take on its original form, then she suddenly punched the air with both hands causing the fire to rocket off toward the sea.

Satisfied she circled around and kicked the air shooting the fire off in a random direction. She jumped up and slashed at an invisible opponent sending the fire flying off into the distance. She landed on her feet then jumped up and did a flip and using both hands sent fire spiraling to the deck below. She smiled, took a deep breath, and jumped up again, this time spiraling in midair causing fire to engulf her then landed, spinning like a top. When she finally stopped, she took another deep breath and closed her eyes and concentrated on the energy around her.

She suddenly opened her eyes and caused lightning to spring from her fingers. She guided it along just as she had done with the fire, using precise motions and caused it to dance around her. She guided it slowly and formed a complete circle, and then suddenly redirected it, shooting it to her left, causing a flash to brighten the sky as the lightning made contact with some foreign object.

She looked down at her left arm where her gash was and gently touched it, it was throbbing. As she thought back to her battle with Jet, other unwanted memories started to dig their way in. She ignored them and started to bend lightning again except taking it to a more extreme level.

She jumped up and a curved sword made of lightning appeared in her right hand. As she slashed and jabbed at the air, images of long ago flashed through her head.

* * *

_Blood and tears ran mingled down her sweat covered cheek. Her blood soaked shirt became too much for her to bear. The blood on her hands was the blood of her brother's best friend Ru, the man she had secretly been in love with for the last two years. _

_She dropped her blood soaked sword and fell to the ground weeping bitterly._

"_Pick up your weapon, you pathetic failure." General Gang screamed, kicking his daughter over. _

"_No, I can't do this!" she screamed begging for her father to take her away from this. _

_So much blood from both sides had been spilled over in the dirt, that the ground was moist and slippery. _

_A young girl Meisha's age stood there trembling at the sight of her fallen comrade._

"_Meisha..." she said silently, tears streaming her face. "You killed my brother...why did you kill Ru! Why did you betray us?" She screamed as she was slowly dragged away with the rest of the captives._

"_Na...I'm...sorry..." she sobbed. "I only did it to save Jie!" she yelled after her friend. Meisha stood there watching helplessly as they drug her best friend away, and destroyed what was left of her once great home._

_

* * *

Meisha lost control of her emotions as tears ran fiercely down her face, the lightning sword she had been holding blew up in her face and she flew backwards. She pulled herself back up and walked over to the railing, tears spilling uncontrollably. She heard someone approach her from behind. She quickly wiped her tears away and tried hard to look uncaring, but she knew she wouldn't be able to calm down enough to maintain a casual air. _

She glanced out the corner of her eye and saw that it was Zuko.

"Are…are you alright?" he asked looking down at her. When she didn't reply he forced her to look at him.

"I just asked you a question!" he said sternly. Then he saw her tear stained face.

"I'm…..no…" she replied looking into his eyes, fighting back the tears. Her pride was screaming for her to snap at him or stalk off, anything rather than let him see her emotions; she ignored it, his voice was the only thing that seemed to soothe the raging storm going on within her.

He was uncomfortable with being in such a situation. He had never had to deal with an emotionally disturbed teen, even though he himself was one.

"I justwish I could forget everything…." She said breaking the silence watching the smooth waves gently caress the ship.

"Hmm…I wish I could forget too." He said thinking of his father, his banishment, and his honor.

She stood there silently, thankful for the gentle breeze blowing through her hair. She thought of all that both of them had gone through and wondered why she even cared about what he had suffered. She knew he was curious as to why she always acted the way she did, but she refused to let him know about any of her awful past; he would never trust her and that would put everything she'd worked for in jeopardy.

She looked at his scar and wondered why he would be so eager to catch the Avatar just so he could be with the people who had done that to him; to the people who hated him. Then she looked down to where the gash was on her left arm. She sighed, she was uncomfortable around Zuko, he seemed to make her remember everything that she had tried so hard to forget.

"Does that gash on your arm upset you?" he asked for no reason.

"No…it's a….honor to receive a scar like this for serving the Fire Nation."

"Why would you count anything that has brought you pain on account of the Fire Nation an honor?" he asked carefully knowing how sensitive she was on this subject.

"Sometimes…you have to fight for the things you believe in…and sometimes it comes at a painful price." She concluded, outlining his scar in her mind's eye.

"Why do you fight?" he asked emotionlessly.

"I fight…because its necessary…and it's my duty, and if I don't do my part, then the Fire Nation may lose the war." She knew that was not true, although she had done many things for the Fire Nation that no one would otherwise dare to do, she knew that Fire Lord Ozai could very easily do anything without her aid.

"Well, what do you believe in?" he asked suddenly. This question caught her off guard.

"I…I don't know what to believe anymore." She stammered numbly.

"Well what about you, why do you chase the Avatar so persistently only to live among people who care nothing for you?" she knew he would snap, but she didn't care, the question had been bugging her for the longest time.

He stood there calmly examining her. She didn't know anything about him or his family.

_What an insolent little... _He felt the urge to incinerate her on the spot, but held back; she could easily bring him down.

"I pursue the Avatar solely to gain back what is rightfully mine." He said coldly.

"Why though? Why would you want to live under the rule of a man who hated you enough to burn you like that?"

"My father does love does me; you know nothing of his true feelings." He said agitated, trying keeping his temper in check.

"Trust me; I know a lot more than you think." She turned and looked at the milky white moon dancing over the water. "Well it's getting late. Thank you for talking with me…it's helped clear my mind up."

"Humph. Whatever." He said pondering over how she could possibly know anything about his father and his feelings.

He remained silent as she walked away, disappearing behind the large metal doors.

Zuko turned his head to look at the sky; thousands of stars shone down on him. He shook his head. Meisha was so unreadable, and to him, a royal pain. He still had that nagging suspicion that she was plotting against them but was wise enough to leave that issue alone. He shook the thought away and decided the best way to clear his mind was a good night's rest. With one last look at the sky, he walked away, leaving the glimmering stars to dance under the milky moon.

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**AN:** Well there ya go! hope it wasnt boring...sry..like I said, I was struggling with this chapter! And I promise I'll update as soon as I can! So please dont leave me! I just need to get my chapters arranged and you know get my ideas set in stone, so to speak! W/e lol well hope ya liked it...please REVIEW! 


	7. The Shadow Phoenix

**AN: Hey guys...I'm sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry I've taken so long to update sry sry sry sry sry sry sry sry times infinity! I promise I wont take _that _long to update again...or try not to at least...but I really did struggle w/ this chapter...but while I was away I took the time to outline _all_ of my future chapters for this story and I figured that there will be at least 21 chapters total! so now that I know what I'm doing...I'll get to work right away with ch.8 but then again...school starts back the 1st oh well I'll update every week when it does...or try to...lol! well here ya go! ch 7! R&R ENJOY!

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The Doom of Innocence 

**Ch. 7 The Shadow Phoenix**

The dusky evening sky was soon illuminated by the fiercely shimmering stars as the sun was gradually replaced by the pale moon. Slivers of silver light shone down upon a quiet little lake. Small puffs of smoke filtered through the night air as the little trio of travelers rested from a long and weary day of traveling.

Among this trio were two Water Tribe children and one Air Nomad. The oldest of the three was a young Water Tribe boy of about fifteen who seemed to be talking mindlessly of food to the fourteen year-old Water Tribe girl who seemed to be cooking while trying to shut the older one up at the same time. The young Airbender however, sat far away from his friends and seemed deeply troubled.

The young girl, tuning out her chatter-box brother, looked up from her cooking at her friend with sincere concern; he'd been acting that way for several days now, and she was beginning to wonder what had happened to her once overly hyper friend.

Ignoring the protests from her brother, she left what she was doing and slowly approached the young Airbender who was mindlessly gazing up at the starry glade above him.

He took no notice of her presence as she seated herself by the motionless figure lying on the soft earth.

"Aang, are…are you feeling alright?" she asked staring down at her friend.

"Yes, why do you ask?" his grey eyes never wavering from the dancing lights above.

"Well, you've been acting so solemn for the longest time…if fact it seems you've been this way since our last encounter with Zuko."

"I have? Well I guess I've had a lot on my mind."

"Like what?" she asked smiling sweetly, his eyes narrowed.

"Katara, during our last encounter with Zuko, did you remember seeing a girl on his ship?"

"A girl? No not at all, you must've been seeing things." Katara said thinking back to that particular day.

"No, I remember, I did see her, she looked to be Fire Nation, but…" he trailed off.

"But what? What happened?" She asked anxiously.

"I can't explain it, I looked down and saw her then she looked up at me and we made eye contact but then something happened when we did…" he looked to Katara.

"Well…what happened." Her great blue eyes widened with suspense.

"Well, when she looked at me, it was as if her soul reached out and touched mine, and...it was like I could feel and read her thoughts." His eyes filled with worry.

"And what did you feel?" she urged him on.

"I felt her pain and distress; I felt her longing and desire. It was as if she was crying out for _me _to free her, and that she wanted to travel with us and help us...but then there was this thing, like a barrier, it was the only thing that seemed to stand in her way of obtaining that freedom." His eyes were now clouded with concern and confusion.

"Did you find out what that barrier was?" Katara asked eagerly.

"No, but whatever it was pushed me away and broke the connection. She didn't seem to realize what was happening though." He sat up and looked to the glowing moon.

"What do you plan to do?" she asked putting a hand on her young friends shoulder, trying to ease his worrisome mind.

"I don't know, but if what I felt was correct, then I'm the only one that can help her." He looked down sadly.

"Don't worry Aang, we'll find a way to save her." She smiled down at her friend.

He looked up to her, doubt still lingering in his eyes, then back to the sky. Katara lifted her head up to the dark sky as well, and together they sat on the soft grass, gazing up into the meadow of dancing stars, shimmering under the silhouette of the pale moon.

* * *

The shadows of the cool night followed by the showers of stars and silvery light of the moon were slowly replaced with dusky clouds and a rising blood red sun. The churning and rumbling of ship engines was the only audible sound on the calm unmoving sea. Exhaust from the ship's engines burning coal and the salt in the thick air intermingled to form a most unpleasant smell.

Meisha leaned against the dark railings of the warship and watched as the darkness slowly began to disappear and be replaced by the glimmering light from the rising sun.

The sky was a pinkish red and the sun looked to be a bloody mess. Meisha hoped it would rain and perhaps bring something new and fresh aboard the lifeless ship. Perhaps some rain would rejuvenate the crew and bring excitement and life aboard the dull ship, as a revitalizing rain did for a dry and barren desert.

The truth of the matter was that Meisha was bored with life on this bleak ship, everyday this big black bulk seemed to grow drearier and drearier and every time she thought of being there on that big black piece of junk, she grew more and more depressed.

She longed to be home; she longed for the foods, smells and culture of her nation. Most of all she longed for her freedom to travel around freely throughout the Fire Nation. Although she mainly stayed and traveled in the shadows of her people as an outcast, anything was better than being confined on such a small ship. With people like a tea loving general and a moody banished prince to keep her company, she would surely go insane and probably want to jump overboard.

Meisha had long since recovered from her injuries and she resumed her training every morning before even Zuko would get up. She couldn't understand how Zuko could live like this for two whole years.

The only form of 'entertainment' for the crew was their music night, which seemed to one of Iroh's greatest joys, other than drinking tea, but to Meisha, it was one of the most obnoxious things she had ever had to sit through in her entire life. She understood why Zuko hated it so much, and she made sure to conceal herself well when she knew it was music night.

Unfortunately, tonight _was_ music night and the crew would most likely be in a jovial mood, but fortunately for both her and Zuko, and by the looks of the sky, she knew there would be a thunderous storm, which would cause music night to be held off for another few days of so, unless Iroh decided to have music night _inside _which _would_ irritate her and Zuko both to no ends.

She hadn't spoken with Zuko in at least a week, not since their last encounter when he had asked her why she fought so valiantly for the Fire Nation, of course she hadn't told him the complete and honest truth, but then again, even _she_ didn't know the real truth behind her own answer.

The warm glowering sun was now its proper color and was quickly ascending into the white fluff of the clouds.

Meisha watched as soldiers poured out on deck, bustling about, fulfilling their daily duties. She heard frustrated shouts coming from behind her and turned to see Zuko and his uncle arguing about a Firebending move, which Zuko couldn't seem to master. She smirked as she saw Zuko repeat the move only to be corrected again by his uncle.

She understood his frustration, and she could tell he was not really upset with his uncle as he tried to make it seem, no, his reasons for such frustration all pointed to one thing; the Avatar. It had been several weeks, and there had been no sign of the Avatar or his flying bison anywhere in the clear skies.

"Miss Meisha," Iroh called startling Meisha from her thoughts, "Will you please come here a moment."

"Yes, Iroh, did you need something?" she asked amused at the annoyed expression on Zuko's face.

"Yes, if you don't mind. Can you please tell me what the key to Firebending is?" Iroh asked smiling warmly.

"Yeah sure, the key to Firebending is in the breath, that's basics." She stated calmly knowing Zuko was ready to kill her.

"Thank you Miss Meisha, now, if only my nephew here could get that through his thick head, then maybe he_ could_ master the basics." Iroh shook his head and Meisha, for a moment, lost her senses and started laughing uncontrollably.

Zuko looked down and then looked back to his uncle; his face now flushed with anger and embarrassment, and then burst out into a stream of arguments and complaints.

"Miss Meisha, will you please show Zuko the correct way to perform this move?" Iroh asked and told her which move and watched as she preformed it with skill and grace.

"Excellent Miss Meisha, you truly are a Firebending Master." Iroh complemented after watching her perform that particular move as well as several difficult moves that required precise breathing patterns for Zuko.

Meisha smiled as she watched Iroh coach Zuko through different moves. She walked back to the cold metal railing she had been standing at before and thought back to her own training under her father then Jie and then later on…with the Fire Lord. A single tear trickled down her cheek as she thought of the laughs and good times and the burns and the burn ointments, she had been a very clumsy bender in her beginning lessons, of course that was when she trained under her first two masters, when she perfected her skills under the Fire Lord, instead of just being corrected, she would get burned for doing a move even slightly imperfect or if her performance was unacceptable in the Fire Lord's eyes. She pushed back those thoughts, wiped her eye, and gazed up at the graying sky; the storm was about to begin.

* * *

Meisha sat in the dining room with Zuko and Iroh and watched as the ocean churned around the tiny black warship.

All were silent as the down pour of rain beat down heavily upon the metal exterior of the ship. The only sound to be heard was the continuous pitter patter of the rain drops echoing through the ship's corridors.

"So…Miss Meisha, you've been with us for quiet some time now. How long would you say it's been nephew?" Iroh smiled warmly at the young teens.

Zuko made no reply, merely glance over to his uncle and then Meisha.

"Yes, it has been a while now." Meisha said looking out the window, hoping he wasn't trying to hint that he wanted her gone.

"Yes, and we know hardly anything about you or what you do." He smiled; her departure was the last thing on his mind. "So tell us Miss Meisha, what is it exactly that you do for my brother, the Fire Lord?" Zuko's head shot up at this, and he glanced up curiously at Meisha.

Meisha inhaled sharply and turned slowly to Iroh.

"W-who said that I was in the s-service of the Fire Lord?" she asked hesitantly, berating herself for stuttering.

"Aren't we all though?" Iroh said smiling slyly.

"True, very, very true," she smiled.

"Well?" Zuko demanded impatiently, Meisha ignored this.

"_Well_, I do many things, it all really depends on what Fire Lord Ozai wishes me to do, he but only has to ask." she said, hoping they would be satisfied with that.

"What kind of things have you done?" Iroh asked warmly, cautious not to drive Meisha away. Meisha groaned inwardly, she had no wish of sharing her business with them, especially Zuko.

"Hmmm…well for one thing, I'm his personal advisor at times I'm an officer, then his personal spy, an outlet for his anger, and a…destroyer…of traitors and rebels…" She trailed off and looked away and for a slight moment, Zuko though he saw a tear making its way down her smooth cheek. Iroh apparently noticed it as well for he quickly changed the subject.

"Meisha, since you've been in the Fire Nation more recently than either of us, tell me, have you ever heard of the Shadow Phoenix?" Meisha's eyes widened and she turned quickly to Iroh.

"Yes, but not many average citizens in the Fire Nation know of him, and those who do _never_ speak of him." She replied.

"Well you apparently know of him." Zuko said condescendingly, as if she were a person of no importance.

"Well of course _I _do, I _am_ the Fire Lord's personal and most trusted advisor, so it's my job to know! In fact…nearly everyone he truly trusts knows of the Shadow Phoenix," she replied coldly.

"Well the Earth Kingdom _does _know of his existence." Iroh said trying to intervene before an argument ensued.

"We've seen many wanted posters all throughout the different Earth Kingdom ports we've stopped at." Zuko said uninterestedly.

"Yes, that does not surprise me at all, the Shadow Phoenix is a very skilled assassin, and from what I've heard from the Fire Lord, has eliminated many Earth Kingdom as well as some Northern Water Tribe leaders, even Fire Nation men who displeased the Fire Lord, although that one is_ just_ a rumor." She smiled at Iroh, ignoring Zuko.

"Have you ever met this mysterious 'assassin'?" Zuko asked, incredulous to the fact that a mere assassin could cause such an epidemic throughout the Earth Kingdom.

"No, not on a name to name bases, but I have however, had an accidental encounter with him not too long ago, but we never spoke, we merely acknowledged each others presence, and then, he was gone." She said flatly.

As the storm raged on and threw the small warship around, the three Firebenders continued to converse with each other in this manner late into the night, learning a little bit more about one another and coming one step closer to what seemed to be an impossible friendship.

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Somewhere not too far off in the distance, another small ship was being brutally beat down by the ferocious and restless waves.

Several soldiers were scurrying about in a panicked frenzy as the waves beat mercilessly down upon them; however, they knew the admiral would be even more unforgiving if they didn't finish examining and repairing a large hole that had been blown out on the front deck.

Water was filling in fast from the fierce waves that had already knocked one man overboard to his doom and which nearly threw two more over during these repairs.

A young man in his early thirties shakily approached Admiral Zhao, who was safely secure in his own quarters.

"A-Admiral Zhao, sir, the men have stopped the repairs." He informed Zhao nervously.

"And who, Lieutenant, gave those men the order to stop." Zhao said coldly, not looking up from the scroll he was reading.

"I…I did sir, the men are tired and it's raining something t-terrible out there sir, I only did what I thought was best for their own –" he said hastily.

"WHO, Lieutenant, gives the orders on this ship – MY ship?" Zhao nearly yelled, cutting the man off.

"Y-you sir," the man said, severely wishing he would have kept his mouth shut.

"Yes, Lieutenant, _I _am the one who gives the orders, not you, and the next time I hear about you giving orders without _my _permission first, then…humph…well lets just say you won't be in such a position to make the same mistake twice, is that clear, _Lieutenant_?" Zhao said condescendingly, allowing his threat to slowly sink in.

"Yes sir," the man replied remorsefully, anxious for Zhao to dismiss him.

"Tell the crew to continue the repairs, I don't care how rough this storm gets, they _will _finish repairing this ship, and tell them that if Prince Zuko _does _manage to escape, then I will throw every last one of you OVERBOARD, those are your orders Lieutenant, you are dismissed." Zhao said picking the scroll back up and continuing to read.

"Yes sir," the man replied, and walked away, relieved to be able to walk away unscathed by Zhao's wrath.

_Yes...I won't allow you to get by _that _easily…little Meisha…hmm…yes, I'll make you an offer that no one, not even _you _can refuse. _Zhao thought as the restless ocean waves continuously tossed the small ship to and fro.

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AN: Alright there ya go...hope ya liked it! sry if its bad...I know I know...I've been gone soooooo long and it should be soooooo much better but...well...lol I only wrote this in like two days! so it probably aint that good...I'm going to try to get Aang and them in the story...but this chapter doesnt really have a purpose...except to introduce the Shadow Phoneix...more will be revealed later, tell you a little of what Meisha does for the Fire Lord, and to tell you guys what Aang was feeling...well I guess this chapter is pretty important...lol w/e...like I said...sry it took sooo long...and I'm goin to do better! well...SEE YA...REVIEW!


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